With the all buzz about paternity kits being sold at your local pharmacy, its hard not to take notice. However, there are other ways to determine paternity in situations where the alleged father is not available.
Adelaide Now reports on a case illustrating when a Sibling DNA test would be a replacement for a Paternity test. In this case an alleged father died in April of 2009, a young boy and his mother are trying to prove paternity to assert rights to his estate. The alleged father in the case has a daughter who is the sole beneficiary to the man’s estate, and has been ordered to take part in a Sibling DNA test with the 6 year old boy. The judge concluded that the minor imposition on the woman to participate in the Sibling DNA test is worth finding the truth.
A sibling DNA test can be done when an alleged father is not accessible for paternity DNA testing, but a known child of his is. Siblings can share one parent (half siblings), or they can share two parents (full siblings). As in any DNA test the mother(s) of the participants are always encouraged to participate in the DNA testing.
A Sibling DNA test is just one option in an array of relationship tests that can be used for legal purposes (such as Immigration or any other relationship verification needs), or just for peace of mind when the alleged father isn’t available to participate for paternity results.
